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Robo-advice - a true innovation in asset management

Robo-advisors are online investment platforms that use computer algorithms to manage client portfolios and are thus part of the FinTech universe. With their user-friendly, automated and low-cost services, robo-advisors pose a challenge to traditional financial advisory services and are growing fast. Online client onboarding is the most crucial step in this process, relying on questionnaires to figure out clients' preferences. Following a conservative approach in their asset selection, robo-advisors mainly invest in ETFs. Portfolio allocation is done via mean-variance optimisation and threshold-based rebalancing is utilised to maintain targeted asset weights. Wealthier and more educated clients are joining millennials as robo-advisory clients. Fees are considerably higher in the EU than in the US where robo-advisors’ AuM are much larger. Robo-advisors can contribute to financial inclusion, while their long-term success relies on a high degree of accuracy and suitability for clients. [more]

More documents about "International"

With the growing use of digital payments, the need for physical cash is no longer self-evident. But: Demand for euro cash is on the rise. Euro cash in circulation tripled between 2003 and 2016 to EUR 1.2 trillion and thus, grew faster than GDP at current prices. It is estimated that euro cash is used for domestic payments, hoarded for saving purposes and held outside the euro area at roughly equal parts. [more]

Growth in global trade almost stagnated at just 1.3% in 2016, and in some months was even negative. During winter, global trade picked up again, rising by around 3% compared to the same period a year earlier. Given the positive sentiment prevailing across the globe, this rebound could well continue. However, this trend is not yet being fully reflected in other hard economic indicators, usually highly correlated with global trade, and sentiment may therefore overstate the actual trend a little. Still, our simple model of world trade, which suggests moderate growth of just over 2% in 2017 and around 3% in 2018 might represent the lower limit of the forecast range. However, compared to previous cycles the upturn could remain weak, not least because of the global trade restrictions that have been progressively ratcheted up since 2008. [more]

Despite a growing role of electronic payments, demand for cash is on the rise in Europe. Euro cash in circulation has increased to EUR 1.1 trillion, three times as much as in 2003. Cash limits the power of monetary authorities, provides data protection and can therefore act as a guarantor of civil liberties. On the other hand, it is often associated with a stronger shadow economy, even though the shift towards a cashless society seems to trigger higher levels of card fraud. [more]

A number of factors, including the decline in commodity prices, sizeable corporate foreign-currency debt, a strengthening dollar and the prospect of higher US interest rates, are weighing on the economic and financial outlook in the emerging markets (EM). The relative lack of reform combined with a weakening of some of the structural factors that underpin growth has raised concern about the medium-term outlook in many, but not all EM. [more]

The share of light trucks (such as pickups and heavy sport utility vehicles) in total vehicle sales has increased noticeably in the US of late, reaching a new high of over 60% at the end of 2015. This came at the expense of conventional passenger car sales. The huge slide in oil prices, and thus petrol prices, quite obviously encourages this shift in preferences, as fuel costs become less of an issue for drivers. This is not a favourable development for the German automakers. After all, they command just 4.7% of the light truck market in the US. By contrast, they boast a 12.3% share of the passenger car segment. [more]

Asia’s needs for infrastructure are vast. Getting the right financing mix for infrastructure projects would be rewarding for borrowers and lenders and, more importantly, provide a boost to GDP growth for the region in the medium term. Despite some remarkable success stories, providing adequate transport networks, power, water and other facilities remains a monumental task in Asia. This note gives a detailed account on selected country experiences with infrastructure financing in Non-Japan Asia. As different countries are at different stages of development and face diverse macroeconomic backdrops and endowments, suitable financing options for infrastructure development will vary. Governments and multilateral agencies will remain important providers of funding, but the role of private financing looks set to grow. This underscores the need to put more effort into improving transparency and governance as well as enhancing cooperation in harmonising capital market standards and facilitating cross-border flows. [more]

Even after yesterday’s Fed rate hike – the first in nine years – the central banks will continue to generously provide the global economy with liquidity in 2016. Global growth looks set to remain below the average and uneven in 2016, at 3.3% (2015: 3.1%). With oil prices normalising somewhat – the oil price decline in 2015 probably contributed ¼ - ½ of a pp to global growth – and wage inflation moderate – with the possible exception of the US, where wage growth might finally pick up considerably in view of almost full employment – household consumption will again probably be the most important growth engine. Despite extremely low interest rates, credit-driven exuberance – which, by the way, was one of the reasons for the global economic and financial crisis in the middle of the past decade – seems unlikely in 2016. [more]

On a global comparison, business regulation in the EU is quite transparent. Looking at four basic areas that affect firms’ operations, i.e. fees for starting a business, transferring property, construction permits and getting access to electricity, it is easy to access information on these fees. While there are some differences across the four categories – finding out about fees to start a business is easiest while checking on charges to obtain building permits can be trickier – the overall level of transparency is quite high. [more]

Roughly 150 countries have submitted their national climate protection commitments in the run-up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris. While these commitments will probably not suffice to meet the 2°C target, related assessments are very favourable nonetheless. Obviously, the bottom-up approach, that is to say the voluntary national climate protection commitments, promises greater progress than the globally coordinated negotiated solution targeted at past UN climate conferences. There is an awareness that the current proposals have shortcomings as regards the 2°C target, but there are hopes that the individual countries will aim for more ambitious targets over the next few years. Sentiment is thus swinging between optimism and realism. Considering the growing demand for energy, the international community is clearly only just beginning to encounter the real challenges of climate protection. [more]

Africa is drawing a variety of investors in search of natural resources and fast-growing consumer markets. They are eager to benefit from some of the highest economic growth rates in the world – as two-thirds of the countries in the continent will grow at over 5% over the next 5 years – and favourable demographics. Africa’s fast-growing, very young and increasingly urban population is currently estimated at 1.2 bn and set to exceed 4 bn by 2100, when around 40% of the global population will be living in Africa, based on projections from the UN. As the EU and China remain Africa’s main trade and investment partners and President Obama has given momentum to the US-Africa partnership, India’s involvement with Africa has been growing steadily. It is set to intensify further, based on the synergies of needs and interests. [more]

Continental drift is slow, takes place almost imperceptibly and ends up having dramatic effects in the long run. In this, it is very similar to demographic change. Let us begin with a few facts. The world’s population is set to grow from 7.3 bn today to more than 9.7 bn by 2050. By comparison, the world’s population was a mere 2.5 bn in 1950. The regional (continental) demographic balance has been shifting for quite some time. In 1950, four of the ten largest countries were European (Germany, Italy, USSR, UK). Today, only Russia, ironically the country with the most adverse demographics, ranks among the top-10. In 1950, the big European four made up 10% of the world’s population. This figure has dropped to 5% today and will continue to decline for the foreseeable future. The populations of Africa and Asia will continue to increase significantly – and dramatically so in Africa – over the next few decades (chart). Admittedly, the aggregate increase hides significant intra-regional differences (e.g. East versus South Asia). [more]

Between 2000 and 2014, unit passenger car sales grew by 27.5% in China on average – per year. However, for the past several months there have been signs of the dynamic growth petering out; from May to July 2015 sales were in fact down 1.3% on the corresponding year-earlier level. The average growth of car demand in China is poised to plummet to a single-digit rate in the next few years. This is a step towards "normality". The anticipated slower growth in demand for passenger cars – coupled with growing production capacities in China for the time being – are likely to lead to further intensifying price and competitive pressures in the Chinese market. German makers of premium-segment cars will be unable to escape completely unscathed from the impact of such a trend. [more]